


delight

by helsinkibaby



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Baby Fic, Comment Fic, F/M, Fluff, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24592933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: When Noelani wakes up alone, she overhears a conversation.
Relationships: Noelani Cunha/Steve McGarrett
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	delight

**Author's Note:**

> For comment doc, theme 70s music  
> Prompt  
> any, any, I hope you don't mind  
> That I put down in words  
> How wonderful life is while you're in the world (Your Song- Elton John)

When she woke up, Noelani instantly realised two things. First of all, she was alone, no Steve beside her, his back pressed against hers, his hand across her waist, which is how she remembered falling asleep. 

Second, Steve might not have been there, but a certain pair of brown eyes was staring up at her and, as she stared back, he tilted his head and thumped his tail against the floor. 

Reaching out, she rubbed Eddie's head, grinning at how the pace of his tail quickened. "He sent you to guard me, huh?" she asked and Eddie yelped quietly, his way of agreeing. "Oh, I know... let's go see where he is, huh?"

Slowly, gingerly, she made her way to standing, straightening the shorts and over-sized shirt she was wearing, both of which she'd appropriated from Steve. Padding out of the room, she made her way towards the stairs, freezing when she got to the top. Because from that vantage point she could see down into the living room, could hear everything that was going on below. 

Which meant that even though he was keeping his voice low, she could still hear every word that Steve was saying to the tiny pink bundle in his arms. 

“You’ve got to be quiet for a little longer... your mommy’s asleep upstairs and she’s real tired... it’s serious business growing a human, especially one as cute as you.” The baby’s eyes opened wide as he spoke, her left arm starting to wave and Noelani could see Steve frown, possibly trying to work out if that was the precursor to an almighty cry. 

“What’s with the arm, young lady? You’re starting to look like your Uncle Danny there... he talks with his hands a lot too. Of course, you probably make more sense...” Noelani smothered a giggle. “Don’t tell him I said that... it’s a little daddy-daughter secret.”

Steve was silent for a moment then. “Let me tell you... your Uncle Danny, he told me... we were painting your room, which is awesome, by the way, and he told me, ‘You think you know what love is. You’re not gonna know love until you’re holding your little girl in your arms.’ And he was right. Danny was right. Not that I’m going to tell him that, of course... but look at you, two days old, and I can’t remember what it was like for you not to be here.” He chuckled, moving so that Noelani would see the side of his face a little more clearly. The look that she saw there would have had her crying if she hadn’t already started. 

“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to be a dad,” he continued. “The life I’ve had, the things I’ve done... then your mom came along and I started thinking, maybe... and let me tell you, people think I’m tough because of my job, because I’m a SEAL... but I’ve never seen anyone as tough as your mom and what she went through to get you here. And now here you are... and I don’t know what I did to deserve you... both of you... but I promise you, I’m always gonna be there for you.” The baby waved her hand again and Steve reached out with his pinky finger, smiling as the baby wrapped her hand around it. 

“Now there’s a metaphor.” 

Steve jumped at Noelani’s words and she smiled through her tears, swiping at her face with the back of her hand. A look of alarm swept over Steve’s face and he was climbing the stairs towards her before her cheeks were dry. “Are you okay?” 

“Hormones,” Noelani answered and she could tell the moment he got what she meant. 

“How long were you standing there?” It was said with a combination of relief and embarrassment. 

“Long enough to know that we have a Daddy’s girl on our hands.” Holding the baby securely in one arm, he laid his other hand on her shoulder rubbing gently. “And to think of a name.” 

He frowned then. “I thought we were leaving it a week? Tradition, find out what her personality is and find a name that suits her...” 

Noelani felt tears pricking her eyes again. “Apikalia,” she told him simply and when he tilted his head, she could practically hear him trying out the syllables in his head, moving his arm so that he could hold the baby securely, lowering her so that Noelani could see her face. 

“It’s pretty,” he said but there was a question there too. 

“In English it would be Abigail,” she told him. “It means ‘delight of my father.’”

His eyes widened as the meaning hit him. “Delight...” He stumbled over the words, blinking in obvious surprise. Then a smile broke over his face, bright as sunshine and when he looked down at their daughter, it grew brighter still. “Apikalia,” he said and damn if the baby didn’t look right at him, her lips curling in up what Noelani’s doctor’s mind knew was gas but what her mother’s mind was happy to call a smile. “Are you... are you sure?” 

She smiled up at him. “I’m sure.” She stepped close to him so that she could lay her head against his shoulder, one of her hands on his back, the other reaching out to run along the baby’s cheek. “It’s the perfect name.” 

It seemed to take a long moment before Steve spoke again. “Thank you... not just for the name... for everything.” He tore his gaze away from the baby to look at her, and what she saw there took her breath away. “I love you.” 

She was crying again - damn hormones - when she whispered, “I love you too.”


End file.
